Pete Carroll

I am actually running some traps to see if Pete Carroll is a viable candidate for the Arkansas Razorback head football job.
Carroll has had more success on the college level than the NFL level.
He’s 61 and was a graduate assistant at the UA in 1977 making $182 per month.
He would probably expect a raise.
It would seem more likely that Carroll is interested in the job than Jon Gruden, but obviously there are no leaks in Fayetteville that’s why my trap is running through Seattle.

17 Responses to “Pete Carroll”

Thanks, Wally. I have been curious as to why a former DC from SoCal comes all the way to Arkansas to fill a $55K per year job. Maybe I have missed some stories along the way but it would be convenient if he was planted here on purpose to prepare for a Carroll arrival. Probably nothing to it and crazy…..but fun to talk about!

I got the impression from one of your columns a while back that you were under the impression that J. Long already had “his man” secured. But, the speculation goes on, as something to write more columns about, I suppose. I mean why give up a good, readable topic of debate and discussion? Right? Personally, I like James Franklin and/or Mike Gundy.

Since we don’t know how much Vanderbilt is paying James Franklin it would be pure speculation to assume he could be enticed financially to come to Arkansas and Vandy really wants him to stay since it’s been 30 years since they’ve had this kind of season. However, if such an inducement would serve the purpose with him or Gus Malzahn, Arkansas would be well served. Both would bring us back to prominence in much the same way as Saban has with Alabama.

Alabama had gone through three coaches over a ten year period with up and down seasons along the way. Saban’s arrival from the Miami Dolphens came after a 6-7 season ended Don Shula’s brief tenure at the end of the 2006 season. We are all aware of Saban’s success at Alabama.

Arkansas has both the fan base and financial backing to support a top ten football program. We’ve got to get it right this time, or we may be going through the ten years of ups and downs that Alabama suffered.

Arkansas will never have a long-term, top rated football team until the U of A transforms the campus into a student destination with extra ammenities for players. Seriously, have you listened to the redneck bumpkin callers on local sports radio? Gotta be one of them to be at home here.

B. Dawg, let me address the two issues you brought up. First, “extra ammenities (sic) for players”. Those are illegal according to the NCAA. We just came off a probation watch list of several years. We’d get hammered for sure by the NCAA for providing stuff outside their rules. Secondly, if you think our local sports radio callers are “redneck bumpkins” you must not travel out of state or listen to sports radio in Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee or Georgia. Our fans are way up the education pipeline compared to them. Except, of course, the ones who can’t spell “amenities.”

Oh for cryin’ out loud Who_Got_Yur [sic] Back, I jiggled off an extra “m” with my twitchy trigger finger.

By amenities, I mean perquisites for being an athlete held in high regard, e.g., Las Vegas style dorms with nice pools and maid service, health spas, a cafeteria with 5-star food served 24/7, and pretty girls to help tutor. Not talking about a no-show chicken plucking job in faytown.

Oh, the fans calling the stations here are extremely literate, men and women of letters to be sure.

As Lou Holtz said, “Fayetteville isn’t the end of the world, but you can see it from here.”

Forget for once an experienced but flawed head coach. The ones being floated around are all either extremely flawed, or really not worth going after. Find a good assistant coach from a proven program. I offer Mike Bobo from the University of Georgia. Richt is not leaving, so Bobo has little future there. He is a proven quarterback and quarterback coach, good background and experience. He or someone like him is Arkansas’ best bet in the current mess someone, not just Petrino, left us in.